Final Fantasy XII: Parallel Fantasy
by DarkValkyr
Summary: Another story that happens alongside the main storyline of Final Fantasy. Their journeys intertwine along several points directly or indirectly. It can be read as you play the game without spoiling if you follow instructions on my profile.
1. Prologue: Where are my Parents?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any races, places, and all that are part of Final Fantasy XII. All names, races, places in Final Fantasy XII rightfully belong to Square-Enix. I only own Original Characters that I have named, which are Kevin and Cliff.**_

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"_Wake up, kupo!"_

"Huh?"

"_Kupo! Wake up!"_

"Who's there?

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"Ungh…wha?" He saw a pair of large blue eyes as he opened his own. Still drowsy, he shook his head, and adjusted to the sunlight behind the figure. Eventually, he noticed that he was lying down, and hovering over him was a Moogle. It sounded like a young one, he could tell by his voice from earlier. He had white fur and blue eyes, and wore a green coat over a white-ish blue undershirt. He had a short figure; well, shorter than most common Moogle. He wasn't very chubby, and even more to the boy's amazement, not 'flat' at all, which, the boy lying down figured, was very common to see in this city. He gave a hum as he remembered something just then, finally awoke from his stupor. With a groan, the boy got up and stretched his hands and legs. Brushing dust off his garments, he looked down on the Moogle.

"Hey, do you know why was I asleep…on the street?" the boy asked the Moogle, who shook his head, his dangling red pom-pom following suit.

"How should I know, kupo?" The Moogle answered. "It's very common to see some people falling down on the street because they're drunk, but not children, kupo."

"Hmm…let's see, lemme try to remember something.," the boy thought hard about what he was doing before he fell asleep.

"Um…I finally came back here since we were free to return to this place…what was it called? Rabanastre, that's it." The Moogle stood there, intently listening to his story. "I came from the south because our family was staying there with our relatives because of the war ending. And, we didn't exactly wanted to come back here because of The Empire being here occupying this place, and---"

"Kupo! Don't say that here!" The Moogle quickly hushed him.

"What? Why?" he glanced around. The Moogle gave a worried look on the boy. "Oh, right! Now I remember! Thankfully, no one's here." He found that he was standing in a large rock-paved pathway, which lead people to and fro from the Giza Plains, a glorious wetland during the rain season, but a mere dried-out meadow during the current dry season, and the massive gates to Rabanastre, an incredible city built as part of Dalmasca—well, it once belonged to Dalmasca, but the kingdom had long since fallen for two years. A little further off the pathway and he would be in the Chocobo stables, a place where people can rent Chocobo for rides.

"Oh! I forgot!" The boy quickly turned back to the Moogle, and did a bow of the head. "I forgot to thank you. Thank you for waking me up!" his face blushed with embarrassment. "Uh…I need to go look for my parents." He turned around, left and right, then, his both his head and shoulders slumped. "Where are they, anyway?"

"They're probably inside, kupo. They could've come back for you, but the Empire isn't letting anyone back out once they go in, kupo. Pretty soon, no one's allowed to go in either."

"But why?" the boy suddenly remembered a string of events before he fainted. "Oh, isn't it the day the new consul comes to Rabanastre?"

"That's right, kupo. And we'd better go inside and see if you're parents are waiting."

"Hmm…they mentioned something else when we were going here, something about a Michael or something…Miguel? Well, I know he sells stuff. That's all I remember." The Moogle gave a kupo with the same tone one would say 'Aha!'

"You mean Migelo, kupo? He's one famous person around here that sells lots of things." The boy nodded.

"That's right! Migelo…" his voice trailed off. "Thing is, I haven't been here in so long, I'm not so sure where it is!"

"I can take you to him, kupo." The Moogle offered his hand. The boy took his hands in great appreciation.

"Really? Thank you!" he was shaking very hard that the Moogle found it hard to stay still.

"Kupo! Can you stop now? This shaking is making me slightly dizzy!" the boy realized what he had done, and stopped and bowed his head again, with his eyes closed and face red with another sudden burst of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry! I got carried away! I'm really sorry!"

"You don't have to apologize all the time, kupo…its okay." The Moogle was ready to offer his hand once more, but quickly withdrew it remembering what had just happened. "I'm Kevin, kupo!"

"And I'm Cliff."

The two worked their way past rushing people desperate to make it inside Rabanastre in time before the gates would be closed. Being the shortest group of people, it wasn't very easy for them to stay together. Cliff managed to get glances from here and there around the hulking figures of Hume, Seeq and Bangaa alike. He caught sight of the Chocobo stables, with a wooden frame before the room holding several Chocobo having their feed, while some people were arguing with the Moogle who was in charge of the stables on how unfair it was why the stables were closed. He also saw the fabled 'Save Crystal', a haven for every adventuring party. It was known to them as a means of healing quickly, and can save those dying with but a touch. The crystal was about as tall as he was, and it was slightly hovering over the ground, spinning gently. It was illuminated in blue, with a harmonic hue.

After waiting in a line, the two had managed to enter into Rabanastres southern plaza. There was a fountain in the middle, water spouted around it. Several people were being ushered into an exit from the fountain and everywhere in the plaza—to the bazaar or to the shops—whichever one they were near to. It was very difficult for two very short individuals to see anything in this place among the larger society. Lowtown, the lower section of Rabanastre deep underground, had its entrances sealed off. Cliff and Kevin made their way into the shopping area. This section was more crowded than ever—it seemed like half of Rabanastres population was all cramped here.

"Th-this place is giving me a headache!" Cliff complained.

"You tell me, kupo! The entire new consul's arrival is getting everybody worked up; no one can do anything in peace, kupo!" Kevin was practically shouting over the large bustle. Without even knowing, Kevin was leading Cliff by pulling him by hand. Passing through more crowds and several twists and turns, Kevin finally stopped in front of a shop, with a sign labeled 'Migelo's Sundries'. "This is the place, kupo!" Kevin signaled towards the door. "After you, kupo."

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_This is Rabanastre. Once the capital city of the Kingdom of Dalmasca, now under the hard iron fist of the Empire of Archadia. Two years ago, the Knights had taken up swords to defend themselves from an invasion. Lacking superior firepower and preparation, the knights had been decimated, and many had died. Countless innocents had been lost. Many refugees had fled to other, farther nations. The King had been offered a treaty to allow the Empire into Dalmasca, and, the king, who had lost his own newly-wed son, accepted. On the night the peace-treaty was to be signed, a group of people believing that this was more of an 'unconditional surrender' had made a desperate assault into the castle. Every one had been slain. Captain Basch Von Rosenburg had killed every single one of the men, and the king, before Basch was brought into custody by the Empire. Because of the murder of the king, the treaty had not been signed; and the Empire had now complete access into Dalmasca, and entered by force. People of Dalmasca now scorned Basch Von Rosenburg, and the Marquis Ondore of Bhjeurba had executed Basch for high treason._

_The people of Rabanastre were poor. Rabanastrians with insufficient Gil were sent to what was a storage deposit in years back, called Lowtown. The place is dirty and littered. It stood next to sewers, and yet people tried to make a living. People had suffered dearly. Every minute, Imperials in Rabanastre are constantly watching. Searching. For any soul who breaks any law or even gets in their way, are caught and most of the time sent to prison. They have no care for the people and trample over them. The Rabanastrians despise the Imperials. Every second, one more soul loses hope of escaping the hell which is the Empire. Many tried to fight back, but were taken down quickly. Today was the day the city was to receive a new consul. Many weren't thrilled at the thought—thinking he would be just another Imperial._

_This is the story of another group of individuals. Another group that crosses lines with Vaan's. A parallel story to his journey. They will face the same foes, have the same allies, and fight the same battles—all at different as well as at same times and places._


	2. Chapter 1: The Brand New Cliff

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any races, places, and all that are part of Final Fantasy XII. All names, races, places in Final Fantasy XII rightfully belong to Square-Enix. I only own Original Characters that I have named, which are Kevin and Cliff.**_

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Cliff approached the door of Migelo's sundries, and just as he formed his fist to knock on the wall, the door creaked open. From the opening made from the green wooden door, came a Bangaa dressed in white and blue robes and a brown and green overcoat. He looked very old—he has two colors on his hide, white on the bottom sides of his body and blue on the upper sides, a lot like his clothing.

"Eh? What can I do for you, lad?" he spoke. Cliff was surprised at how his voice was not as he imagined—his voice was not the typical old person voice—his voice was raspy, and had a lot of energy to it.

"Uh…ah...are you…Mister Migelo?" Cliff asked weakly.

"Oh, please do cut the formalities," he spurted out in a hushing tone. "But yes, I am Migelo. Can I help you?"

"Oh—mister—"Cliff stopped as Migelo shot at him with a look. "Migelo, have you seen my parents? I mean—has any couples went in and came out? If you've seen any, of course…"

"There are plenty of people in my store, especially with the parade going to start and all," Migelo begun his reply, "There have been a few couples—but can't say that I saw none leave."

"Oh? I hope my parents are still in there…" Cliff said in a worried tone. "Can I go in?"

"Yes, yes you may—I'd love to help you, lad, but I'm going to be busy today. Sorry."

"It's all right…thanks Mi—Migelo!" Cliff gave a sweat drop as he nearly called Migelo Mister again. As he went in, he would have given Migelo an actual smile, but his embarrassment only made him gave a forced one.

"Hmm," Cliff hummed. There were many people inside the store. There were racks taller than he was that had many varieties of potions and bottles on one side and on the other were various food ingredients. Migelo was one neat manager—he kept everything labeled and in proper order. Behind him came the small sounds of footsteps.

"Kupo, you found them yet?" It was Kevin. Cliff completely forgot about him. Cliff wheeled to face him, and shook his head.

"N-no…Not yet." Cliff turned his head to look around. He started walking about past shelves and racks hoping he missed them. However, he never found them. "Kevin…they aren't here…but this is the only lead I have." He spoke, fearfully." Where could they be?" Kevin gave him a sympathetic face.

"Don't worry, kupo. We'll find them." He consoled.

"Thanks, Kevin." Cliff gave a small smile. "But where do I start? Everyone seems in so much of a hurry that I don't think I should bother them."

"I don't know about you, kupo, but I think we should get you a change of clothes."

"Huh?" Cliff was startled at that comment. However, thanks to it, he finally got a glance at his clothing, which he never paid attention since he decided to look for his parents.

Dust and dirt had covered his brown shirt, and it had faded and lost color. His trousers had been torn and warped, and did not have the white color he remembered. Indeed, his attire was very dirty.

"Wow, now I realize how dirty I look." Cliff was staring blankly at his clothing. "I'd get new ones, but I don't have any Gil with me."

"My mother's a tailor—she can get you something nice to wear, kupo." Kevin offered.

"Oh no—I can't ask for that…" Cliff blushed for the umpteenth time that day. "It wouldn't be right—"

"I insist, kupo!" Persistently, Kevin grabbed Cliff by the hand and, with surprising might, dragged him out the door. Cliff was practically thrown and dragged out into the streets and caught sight of Migelo talking to a teenager. He did not have much time to have to listen at what they were discussing, as Kevin had jerked him into another direction. Cliff felt very awkward, while the Moogle no younger than he is was pulling him…or was he older than he thought? It was hard to tell with Moogle folk. After some time, Kevin began to slow down.

"Finally," Cliff gave a relieved sigh. He was walking the stone paved alley, going past the walls of houses and structures. People were walking alongside him in both directions, some in groups chatting amongst each other. The walls on this side of the alley showed the houses' true age, while from over the wall Cliff could see the houses in brand new bright colored paint; the walls of the back of the houses lost their color and were cracked in some places. Some had even been broken down to their very foundations, one could see the bricks lining in the walls. Kevin wasn't holding Cliff by the hand any longer, so he could stop him from giving him clothes—it doesn't feel right, getting something free from a complete stranger. Cliff knew he could trust Kevin—but his mother…it would be very rude, and he doesn't even have a single coin of Gil with him either.

They exited the hallway and entered the Bazaar. It was quite full today, with the entire bustle about the new consul arriving. One ash-skinned Bangaa was gleefully yelling out something about 'cheap oil' and 'ink paper'—something that Cliff would have paid attention to if it weren't for the other groups shouting and groups of people haggling and arguing. That, and the Seeq, which Cliff accidentally walked into without looking. He tumbled on his back as the blubber of the giant belly of the pig-creature repelled him, wobbling in the aftermath. It gave a snort at Cliff and shot a stare. With a grunt, he continued his merry way…not as if Cliff cared where he was going. However, he shortly found out that this short intermission had a dreadful cost. Kevin was missing.

"Kevin?" Cliff knew that calling for him is futile in this crowd, short as the two of them are. Kevin would never hear him. He dashed past groups of many: One Hume that banged a counter with his fists as he found out he was ripped off, Two Seeq that were practically blocking the road with their huge lumbering builds, and a group of adventurers purchasing goods from a shady Bangaa. He leapt past several sitting peddlers, who shouted at him in discontent. He briefly turned his head and said a short sorry to them. At last, he climbed stairs and reached higher point, where he could see the entire bazaar.

He glanced among the multi-racial bunch of people. Tents of colors were lining the sideways, and some had counters in the walls. People were selling and bargaining goods from all around Ivalice: pots, pans, jugs, antiques, and things that Cliff never knew existed. It was a colorful sight, though the volume and the smell, Cliff thought, should be toned down. The melting pots of voices and the air filled with stench of sweat and the scent of perfumes and spices didn't treat very kindly to his ear and nose. He ignored them, paced right, and left along a balcony that was very tall, leading deep into an abyss down below, along a yellow brick pavement, trying to see one Moogle who wore a green coat and had white fur. It was very difficult for him to see one barely three feet tall amongst those that reach heights of seven, and those that have a wide body mass. He could have sworn, as he strode left, he saw a red orb dangling in the crowd. This was definitely Kevin—he hadn't seen any Moogles in the bazaar since he entered. He raced back down the steps and narrowly bumping into another Seeq, which Cliff feared he might not be so lucky this time around, and worried that he might actually toss him off the balcony. He finally saw the orb again amongst the dense crowd and with a swift action of his hand; he caught hold of the Moogle.

"I got you!" Cliff spoke out loudly. The Moogle stopped and turned towards him.

His tiny red-fleshy ears pointed up. "I was getting worried, kupo!"

"This is no place to talk," Cliff pointed out as more people began rushing into the bazaar like a flood. "Quick, let's get to your home!"

Cliff stared at the small wooden door—small by Hume standards, but obviously large by Moogle standards—Kevin motioned Cliff to wait outside, and knocked on the door. Cliff took several steps away from the door. Within seconds, a stout Moogle, whom Cliff thought was his father, opened the door. He wasn't much taller than Kevin was, but he looked battle-hardy. He wore a chest plate that shone in white, and wore slacks that went all the way to his sandals. His arms and the visible sides of his body that weren't covered in armor revealed white fur. He had a scar over his blue eyes. He smiled as he stared at his son. He gave a string of different intonations, syllables and variations of the words Ku and Po. Kevin answered back in a similar tongue. Cliff was at first, confused, but he remembered reading some time back during his journey with his parents about the Moogle language, Mogri. It was a very interesting language to study about, and Cliff, seeing it in action for the very first time, was eager to learn it. However, only Moogles could pronounce several key tones. As they exchanged Mogri words, Cliff caught bits and pieces of the words 'father' and 'friend', which Cliff became red at hearing.

At last, Kevin and his father took a loving hug and after the releasing the embrace, went in. Cliff could only wait for what seemed like twenty whole minutes before something finally happened. Cliff could hear the distinct sound of Kevin laughing, which, admittedly, was quite different from that of the murmurs of the surprisingly high voice of his father and the lower voice of his mother, though his mother's voice wasn't much different but distinct. Within moments, Kevin had exited the house with a half-robe that lead to waist-height. It was colored navy blue, and vertically it had white stripes that circled around it.

Kevin held up the robe to Cliff. "Here, kupo. This is the only one I could find for your size, sadly…"

"I told you…it's not necessary," Cliff answered then raised his voice. "I don't want to take the clothes until I can buy it!" he said harshly.

There was a silence between them. Cliff realized how he had behaved and cooled down. "I'm sorry," He spoke weakly after a long pause at Kevin, who was looking down.

Kevin raised his head again. "If you're that persistent about buying the clothes, kupo," Kevin started grinning, "Then you can pay it later!"

Cliff smiled as well at this comment. "That sounds much better!"

"Also, you might as well buy the whole set for yourself, kupo—it'll feel more comforting if you did."

"But I couldn't—this is enough!" he argued.

"Nonsense, kupo!" Before Cliff could say a word, Kevin had shoved the robe into his hands and he had already gone inside again, opening the wooden door once more. He swore as Kevin entered, he heard him say, "Its only 5000 gil for the set!" which Cliff cringed at hearing. He clutched the robe tighter. His hands felt around the silky material. It was so smooth and felt comfortable, yet so cheap; Cliff wondered how 5000 gil would be enough to pay for the entire set. The clothes were excellent; Cliff felt he had to wear it as soon as he could. He lifted the robes and felt around it, taking a view of the fine detail. Cliff was convinced that this should definitely be more than 8000 gil in worth. There were square patches of brown in several sections, adding to the abstract and elegant feel to the clothing.

"Liking those clothes, kupo?" Kevin's voice perked behind him. Cliff lowered the robes and turned to where the voice came from, a giant bunch of clothing. Cliff burst out laughing as he saw the tiny Moogle lift a large pile, for Moogles, Cliff put in as a side mental note, of a neatly folded pair of slacks, a pair of cuffs, and a pair of gaiters and a tiny key to go on top. "Could you stop laughing and help me, please?" Cliff's laugh skimmed down into a smile and took the repertoire of clothing. Kevin took the key from the top of the pile and headed to another, much larger door to the side of the house. Cliff thought that would be the main door when people enter and exit, but upon closer inspection, Cliff saw it was a dressing room. It also had a door, which possibly lead inside.

"This is a room where the guests change when they chose their clothes, kupo." Kevin pointed out. "We also use this room to allow guests which are much bigger than us to go in."

"Why didn't you make your front door bigger then?" Cliff inquisitively asked.

"The last person who owned this house was a Moogle. He was a friend of our family—but he died before the war started. We inherited this house because he didn't have any relatives and he wrote on his will that we should. Mom needed a bigger place to keep all her things, so we gladly accepted, kupo. Well, you can change now! I can't wait to see how you look!" he walked outside and closed the door. The place was dark without any light, but Cliff figured he could manage.

The room was made of wood, just like the rest of the house, and had some hangers for the clothing he had in his hand, so he put the slacks and the robe there. He placed the gloves neatly on a small cushioned chair. To his right there was a tall mirror, where he got a good look at himself after a while.

"Can't believe I forgot how I looked…"


End file.
